Isaiah 33
Christian Standard Bible
The Lord Rises Up
33 Woe, you destroyer never destroyed,
you traitor never betrayed!
When you have finished destroying,
you will be destroyed.
When you have finished betraying,
they will betray you.(A)
2 Lord, be gracious to us! We wait for you.(B)
Be our strength every morning
and our salvation in time of trouble.(C)
3 The peoples flee at the thunderous noise;(D)
the nations scatter when you rise in your majesty.
4 Your spoil will be gathered as locusts are gathered;
people will swarm over it like an infestation of locusts.
5 The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high;
he has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
6 There will be times of security for you—
a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.
The fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure.(E)
7 Listen! Their warriors cry loudly in the streets;
the messengers of peace weep bitterly.(F)
8 The highways are deserted;
travel has ceased.
An agreement has been broken,(G)
cities[a] despised,
and human life disregarded.
9 The land mourns and withers;(H)
Lebanon is ashamed and wilted.
Sharon is like a desert;
Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.
10 “Now I will rise up,”(I) says the Lord.
“Now I will lift myself up.
Now I will be exalted.
11 You will conceive chaff;(J)
you will give birth to stubble.
Your breath is fire that will consume you.
12 The peoples will be burned to ashes,
like thorns cut down and burned in a fire.
13 You who are far off, hear what I have done;
you who are near,(K) know my strength.”
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid;
trembling seizes the ungodly:
“Who among us can dwell with a consuming fire?(L)
Who among us can dwell with ever-burning flames?”(M)
15 The one who lives righteously
and speaks rightly,(N)
who refuses profit from extortion,
whose hand never takes a bribe,
who stops his ears from listening to murderous plots
and shuts his eyes against evil schemes(O)—
16 he will dwell on the heights;
his refuge will be the rocky fortresses,
his food provided, his water assured.
17 Your eyes will see the King in his beauty;(P)
you will see a vast land.(Q)
18 Your mind will meditate on the past terror:
“Where is the accountant?[b]
Where is the tribute collector?[c]
Where is the one who spied out our defenses?” [d]
19 You will no longer see the barbarians,
a people whose speech is difficult to comprehend—
who stammer in a language that is not understood.(R)
20 Look at Zion, the city of our festival times.
Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
a peaceful pasture,(S) a tent that does not wander;
its tent pegs will not be pulled up
nor will any of its cords be loosened.(T)
21 For the majestic one, our Lord, will be there,(U)
a place of rivers and broad streams
where ships that are rowed will not go,
and majestic vessels will not pass.(V)
22 For the Lord is our Judge,
the Lord is our Lawgiver,(W)
the Lord is our King.
He will save us.(X)
23 Your ropes are slack;
they cannot hold the base of the mast
or spread out the flag.
Then abundant spoil will be divided,
the lame will plunder it,
24 and none there will say, “I am sick.”
The people who dwell there
will be forgiven(Y) their iniquity.(Z)
Isaiah 33
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
A Prophecy of Deliverance from Foes
33 Woe to the destroyer,
who yourself have not been destroyed;
you treacherous one,
with whom no one has dealt treacherously!
When you have ceased to destroy,
you will be destroyed;
and when you have stopped dealing treacherously,
you will be dealt with treacherously.(A)
2 O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you.
Be our arm every morning,
our salvation in the time of trouble.(B)
3 At the sound of tumult, peoples fled;
before your majesty, nations scattered.(C)
4 Spoil was gathered as the caterpillar gathers;
as locusts leap, they leaped[a] upon it.
5 The Lord is exalted; he dwells on high;
he filled Zion with justice and righteousness;(D)
6 he will be the stability of your times,
abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;
the fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure.[b](E)
7 Listen! The people of Ariel[c] cry out in the streets;
the envoys of peace weep bitterly.(F)
8 The highways are deserted;
travelers have quit the road.
The treaty is broken;
its oaths[d] are despised,
the people are disregarded.
9 The land mourns and languishes;
Lebanon is confounded and withers away;
Sharon is like a desert,
and Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.
10 “Now I will arise,” says the Lord,
“now I will lift myself up;
now I will be exalted.
11 You conceive chaff; you bring forth stubble;
wind like a fire[e] will consume you.
12 And the peoples will be as if burned to lime,
like thorns cut down that are burned in the fire.”
13 Hear, you who are far away, what I have done,
and you who are near, acknowledge my might.
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid;
trembling has seized the godless:
“Who among us can live with the devouring fire?
Who among us can live with everlasting flames?”
15 Those who walk righteously and speak uprightly,
who despise the gain of oppression,
who wave away a bribe instead of accepting it,
who stop their ears from hearing of bloodshed
and shut their eyes from looking on evil,
16 they will live on the heights;
their refuge will be the fortresses of rocks;
their food will be supplied, their water assured.
The Land of the Majestic King
17 Your eyes will see the king in his beauty;
they will behold a land that stretches far away.
18 Your mind will muse on the terror:
“Where is the one who counted?
Where is the one who weighed the tribute?
Where is the one who counted the towers?”(G)
19 No longer will you see the insolent people,
the people of an obscure speech that you cannot comprehend,
stammering in a language that you cannot understand.(H)
20 Look on Zion, the city of our appointed festivals!
Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
a quiet habitation, an immovable tent
whose stakes will never be pulled up
and none of whose ropes will be broken.(I)
21 But there the Lord in majesty will be for us
a place of broad rivers and streams
where no galley with oars can go
nor stately ship can pass.(J)
22 For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our ruler;
the Lord is our king; he will save us.(K)
23 Your rigging hangs loose;
it cannot hold the mast firm in its place
or keep the sail spread out.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.